Wire hanger clip

ABSTRACT

An attachment is provided to be clipped on each end of a wire garment hanger to provide a smooth surface approximately 1 inch wide and 9 inches long to support the shoulders of a garment so as to prevent the usual distortion of the cloth when using a bare wire hanger.

United States Patent References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,420,101 5/l947 Samann 223/88 2,524,978 10/1950 Humphreys. 223/88 2,910,215 10/1959 Auten 223/98 3,039,662 6/1962 Strong 223/89 3,059,824 10/1962 Henry... 223/88 I Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-George l-l. Krizmanich Attorney-Baldwin, Egan, Walling & Fetzer ABSTRACT: An attachment is provided tobe clipped on each end of a wire garment hanger to provide a smooth surface approximately 1 inch wide and 9 inches long to support the shoulders of a garment so as to prevent the usual distortion of the cloth when using a bare wire hanger.

PATENTEDA B m 3,602,408

INVENTOR (bx/1v 5. 617mm HTTORNEYJ aafilgwwgte 55W 12, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,484,029 and entitled WIRE HANGER CLIP.

An object of the present inventionis to provide a cheap at tachment adapted to be quickly clipped onto a wire garment hanger to cover each end thereof and to provide a large garment supporting surface.

, Another object of the present invention is to provide such a device having a three-sided pocket therein adapted to embrace the curved wire portion usually found at each of the lateral ends of a garment hanger, together with substantially the entire respective upper bar and a portion of the lower bar, adjacent thereto.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an attachment of the type described which is pleasing to the eye and easy to use.

A further object is to provide a lightweight attachment of the above-discussed type, which can be economically produced using mass production techniques.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and description and the essential features thereof will be set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

F IG. 1 is a side elevational view of a wire hanger with two of the attachments of this invention in place at the opposite ends thereof;

FIG. 2 is a broken, enlarged central sectional view of one of the attachments shown in FIG. 1, this section being taken generally along the line 22 of FIG. 3 Y

. FIG. 3 is a broken end elevational view taken from the general position of the line 33 of FIG. 2; while FIG. 4 is a broken top plan view taken from the general position of the line 44 of FIG. 2.

Bare wire hangers are commonly used to support garments which have been freshly laundered or drycleaned. These hangers are of uniform size and when the shoulder width of the garment is greater than the width across the hanger, the ends of the wire hanger will provide the appearance of a lump between the collar of the garment and the tip of the shoulder. This is particularly annoying in the case of mens suits or sweaters and women s garments of various character, particularly jackets and sweaters of loose knit or soft fabric. In any case, even where the garment hanger is of approximately the proper width, the bare wire causes a ridge where the shoulders of the garment rest upon it and a drooping of the shoulders of the garment lengthwise of the shoulders. The present invention provides a quick and easy manner of placing protective clips or attachments at opposite ends of the hanger which are frictionally or resiliently held in place and which provide a greater area of supporting surface to hold the garment so as to obviate the above-mentioned difficulties.

Two of the attachments of this invention are shown applied to opposite ends of the wire hanger 11. This hanger is of the usual character being generally triangular with two inclined upper bars Ila and a lower barllb joined by curved wire portions 110 shown in detail in FIG. 2. The hanger is shown supplied with a hook 11d at the top by which the hanger is customarily suspended.

The attachment 10 is composed of a unitary body having a generally flat top surface 12 which is generally rectangular in top plan view as shown in FIG. 4 having a width crosswise of the upper bar Ila from about 4 times to about 12 times the thickness of the wire bar and having a length generally parallel to the upper bar of approximately 9 times the width of the rectangular top surface. In a preferred form of this device, the top surface is approximately 1 inch by 9 inches with rounded comers as shown in FIG. 4.

The clip or attachment is of generally L-shaped configuration in side elevation as clearly seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. A downwardly opening slot 14 is provided along the central vertical longitudinal plane of the clip body extending from the upper rounded end 13 of the body to apoint 15 adjacent the end wall 16 of the body opposite the upper end 13. This slot is defined by a substantially straight line 17 where it is adapted to engage the upper bar 11a, and terminates in a line 18 which follows around the curved portion 110 of the hanger when the clip is in place thereon. The slot 14 might terminate by extending in the direction of the dot-dash line 14' in FIG. 2 which is generally tangent to the outside portion of the curved wire portion 110. Preferably however, the slot provides a threesided pocket so that the lower portion of the body at 19 embraces a portion of the lower bar 1 lb adjacent the curved wire portion 110 when the clip is in place on the hanger.

The walls of the slot 14 are spaced'so as to firmly grip the wire of the hanger when the attachment or clip is applied thereto. Where the attachment 10 is of material having very slight resilience, the lateral width of the slot is so selected that the clip has to be forced onto the wire hanger so that a strong friction holds the same tightly in place. Where the attachment has greater resilience, then the slot can be slightly narrower than the wire of thehanger so that the attachment snaps into place on the hanger and is held by the resilience thereof.

A preferred form of my attachment is made of a bubbletype, polystyrene plastic made by inflating cells of polystyrene with air. A suitable form of this material is sold under the trademark STYROFOAM by Dow Chemical Company.

-As seen in FIG. 3, the top surface 12 is slightly convex upwardly being highest above the bar 1 la and sloping downward laterally as at 15a in each direction in a smooth fashion. The shoulders 12a at the lateral sides of the top surface 12 are preferably rounded smoothly as seen in FIG. 3.

The outer lower end edge of the top surface 12, as seen at 12b in FIG. 2, turns downwardly in a smooth curve.

The outer end wall 16 of the attachment as seen in FIG. 2 is inclined downwardly and inwardly. This adds to the pleasing appearance of the clip and permits the garment to hang smoothly from the rounded shoulder 12b.

The sidewalls 20 of the body are inclined downwardly and inwardly as seen in FIG. 3. In fact, from about the point A in FIG. 2, where in the lower side of the attachment turns from a straight line parallel to bar 11a and curves smoothly downwardly as seen in FIG. 2, to the outer end 16 of the attachment, the sidewalls 20 are preferably made concave inwardlywhich adds to the pleasing appearance of the attachment. Byhaving .the body portion of the attachment extend along the associated upper bar 110 for substantially the entire length of the latter and up to adjacent the connection of the hook portion 11d to the upper bars, the shoulders of a garment are provided with complete and expeditious support.

In use, the attachments 10 are pushed into position on opposite ends of the hanger 11 and the three-sided pocket formed by the slot 14 engages snugly and tightly against the associated straight upper bar 11a and a portion of the straight lower bar 11b, and against the curved wire portion 11c as clearly seen in FIG. 2. The invention thus completely protects garments against the formation of unsightly lumps and ridges such as occur when using a bare wire hanger of the type described, and maintains the desired shape of the respective garment.

The terms and expressions which havebeen used are used as terms of description and not of limitation and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of any of the features shown or described, or portions thereof, and it is recognized that modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What I claim is:

l. A lightweight attachment for ready assembly to and disassembly from an end portion of a wire garment hanger of the type which is generally triangular having two inclined upper bars meeting at a hook portion and a generally horizontal lower bar and curved wire portions at each end where the lower bar joins the upper bar, said attachment comprising, a generally L-shaped body in side elevation, having generally flat top and outer end surfaces defining two outer sides of said body, with said surfaces being generally rectangular in plan, said top surface being of a materially greater width as compared to the width of said end surface with the outer end of said top surface merging smoothly into said end surface at the juncture thereof, said body having a length substantially greater than its width and having an elongated inwardly extending slot formed in the undersurface of said body, said slot forming a three-sided pocket adapted to embrace substantially the entire length of the associated upper bar and curved wire portion and associated end of the lower bar of the wire hanger, the walls of said slot being so spaced so as to firmly grip in frictional holding relation the wire of the hanger when the attachment is applied thereto, said top surface being generally uniformly rectangular in plan and being substantially wider than said slot and being adapted to extend for substantially the full length of the upper bar of the hanger, the length of said top surface being at least approximately 9 times the width of said top surface, said end surface extending downwardly and inwardly relative to said top surface.

2. An attachment in accordance with claim 1 wherein the width of said body is approximately 1 inch and the length of said body is approximately 9 inches.

3. An attachment in accordance with claim 1 wherein the attachment is formed of an expanded plastic such as a bubbletype polystyrene plastic.

4. An attachment in accordance with claim 3 wherein said slot extends into the longer arm portion of said L-shaped body approximately one-half the thickness of said longer arm portion, said under surface of said latter portion being of convex configuration in a direction transverse thereof, said slot extending'into the shorter arm portion of said L-shaped body in a curved configuration a distance substantially greater than one-half the thickness of the shorter arm portion, thereby giving substantial sidewall support to said three-sided pocket at the outer end portion of said body.

5. An attachment in accordance with claim 4 wherein said slot opens downwardly and along the vertical longitudinal center plane of said body extending from the upper end of said body to a point adjacent said end surface of said body opposite said upper end, said slot defining a straight line generally parallel to said top surface and terminating in a line curving around to reverse the direction of extension and define said curved configuration portionof said three-sided pocket and then extends into a straight line relation for coaction with the horizontal lower bar when said attachment is in place on the hanger, said shorter arm portion of said body having generally concave side surfaces sloping downwardly and inwardly from said top surface and merging with said end surface.

6. An attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein said top surface is slightly convex in a direction transverse of its length. 

1. A lightweight attachment for ready assembly to and disassembly from an end portion of a wire garment hanger of the type which is generally triangular having two inclined upper bars meeting at a hook portion and a generally horizontal lower bar and curved wire portions at each end where the lower bar joins the upper bar, said attachment comprising, a generally L-shaped body in side elevation, having generally flat top and outer end surfaces defining two outer sides of said body, with said surfaces being generally rectangular in plan, said top surface being of a materially greater width as compared to the width of said end surface with the outer end of said top surface merging smoothly into said end surface at the juncture thereof, said body having a length substantially greater than its width and having an elongated inwardly extending slot formed in the undersurface of said body, said slot forming a three-sided pocket adapted to embrace substantially the entire length of the associated upper bar and curved wire portion and associated end of the lower bar of the wire hanger, the walls of said slot being so spaced so as to firmly grip in frictional holding relation the wire of the hanger when the attachment is applied thereto, said top surface being generally uniformly rectangular in plan and being substantially wider than said slot and being adapted to extend for substantially the full length of the upper bar of the hanger, the length of said top surface being at least approximately 9 times the width of said top surface, said end surface extending downwardly and inwardly relative to said top surface.
 2. An attachment in accordance with claim 1 wherein the width of said body is approximately 1 inch and the length of said body is approximately 9 inches.
 3. An attachment in accordance with claim 1 wherein the attachment is formed of an expanded plastic such as a bubble-type polystyrene plastic.
 4. An attachment in accordance with claim 3 wherein said slot extends into the longer arm portion of said L-shaped body approximately one-half the thickness of said longer arm portion, said under surface of said latter portion being of convex configuration in a direction transverse thereof, said slot extending into the shorter arm portion of said L-shaped body in a curved configuration a distance substantially greater than one-half the thickness of the shorter arm portion, thereby giving substantial sidewall support to said three-sided pocket at the outer end portion of said body.
 5. An attachment in accordance with claim 4 wherein said slot opens downwardly and along the vertical longitudinal center plane of said body extending from the upper end of said body to a point adjacent said end surface of said body opposite said upper end, said slot defining a straight line generally parallel to said top surface and terminating in a line curving around to reverse the direction of extension and define said curved configuration portion of said three-sided pocket and then extends into a straight line relation for coaction with the horizontal lower bar when said attachment is in place on the hanger, said shorter arM portion of said body having generally concave side surfaces sloping downwardly and inwardly from said top surface and merging with said end surface.
 6. An attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein said top surface is slightly convex in a direction transverse of its length. 